Square Mile dropped a range of funds and admitted three new strategies to its academy in December, bringing in two ‘A’ and one ‘AA’ rating.
The Royal London Sustainable Leaders fund was marked with a ‘Responsible AA’ rating, while the Artemis SmartGARP Global Emerging Markets and Jupiter Global Value Equity funds were both awarded A ratings.
The Embark Horizon fund range had its recommended rating rescinded following its announcement that the range will be moving from Columbia Threadneedle Investments to BlackRock during the first quarter of 2024.
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“Whilst the analysts acknowledge the strong resources at BlackRock, they believe the best course of action is to remove the rating while the new team establishes its process and builds its track record,” Square Mile said.
The Royal London fund, which is managed by Mike Fox, received its ‘Responsible AA’ rating on 12 December for being “long-term, disciplined and risk-averse in nature”.
“Mr Fox has a clear focus on investing in high quality companies that are both helping the transition to a more sustainable future and that he believes can generate strong financial returns,” Square Mile stated.
While three funds were placed under review during December, only the Pyrford Global Total Return fund retained its rating, while the Matthews Asia Pacific Tiger fund found its AA rating suspended.
The Troy Income & Growth trust had it’s A rating suspended.
The Matthews fund was placed under review when lead portfolio manager Sharat Shroff announced his departure for the end of 2023. Square Mile said due to the changes in leadership, its analysts plan to “meet with the current lead manager InBok Song and Sean Taylor to discuss the changes to the team and will update investors in due course”.
Following the intention to combine the Troy Income & Growth trust with the STS Global Income & Growth Trust, Square Mile announced it will aim to make a concrete decision on the fund during March 2024, once the regulatory clearances and documentation of the combination reaches shareholders in February.
In the whole of 2023, Square Mile admitted 38 funds to its academy, including 18 investment trusts.
